Chapter 95 : Chapter 95

Chapter 95 - The Frozen World (2)

Meanwhile, Artier was continuously heading north.

“Damn it!”

Tersion, who was leading the way and searching for tracks, suddenly spat out a curse.

“What’s wrong?”

“Look at the sky.”

At her words, everyone looked up at the sky.

Snow was falling from the sky.

“What’s wrong with snow?”

“All their tracks will be erased. We had almost caught up…!”

“Calm down, Bow.”

Gerard put away the map and said.

“We have been following their tracks for three days. That is a sufficient achievement.”

“But at this rate, we’ll lose them.”

“That can’t be helped.”

In fact, it was a good thing that Tersion's skills were so great; the tracks she found were something that archers of an ordinary level couldn't even attempt to find.

Even Collie had said he couldn't find the scent because it was too faint, yet she had managed to lead the party for three whole days.

“What we should be worried about is dealing with this snow.”

“Snow? What do you mean deal with it?”

Tersion asked back as if it was absurd.

And she regretted those words exactly one hour later.

Rumble…

The snow was falling like a downpour. It was not easy to even take a step.

In just one hour, the snow had covered their knees.

“What the hell is this! Is it a natural disaster?!”

At Tersion’s fed-up voice, Jeina tilted her head.

“What are you talking about? This is what winter is like in the north.”

For Jeina, who was born and raised in the north, and Gerard, who had worked as a mercenary in the north, this kind of snow was not particularly new.

In this world where there was no separate snow removal work, it was natural for roads to be blocked when it snowed.

“We should probably find a place to camp quickly. Or we could clear the snow here and pitch a tent. Otherwise, we might freeze to death?”

Jeina, who brought up the grim story so cheerfully, winked one eye.

Thud.

“R-Reinard has collapsed!”

The effect of the brutal snowstorm immediately affected the party.

Reinard, who was from the south, was lying on the ground, and Tersion, though a Great Warrior, was only enduring and staggering slightly.

Collie, who was the smallest in the party, had already returned to his dog form long ago.

‘At this rate, everyone’s going to freeze to death. I have to find a shelter quickly.’

As the sensation in his limbs began to disappear, Artier hastily looked around.

But all he could see was a pure white field. Visibility had been considerably reduced due to the thickly accumulated snow.

“Look over there!”

At that moment, Ben pointed somewhere.

Not in the direction they were heading, but to the side, beyond a dense forest, a part of a cabin was faintly visible.

“Let’s go there right now!”

There was no time to hesitate.

[Using Flame Cleave.]

Fsssh!

Artier tried to melt the snow with a burning flame.

But perhaps because of the surrounding environment? The flame from his sword was considerably smaller than usual.

‘But the important thing is that it comes out.’

[Using Flame Cleave.]

[Using Flame Cleave.]

Artier cleared a path from the front, prepared to use all the mana he had saved.

When they broke through the snow, which now reached their waists, and entered the forest, the old cabin that Ben had found welcomed them.

The cabin seemed to have been abandoned a long time ago. It was full of dust and cobwebs everywhere, and the windows were all broken, giving off an eerie atmosphere.

But at least it wasn't infected like the surrounding trees.

It was probably because it wasn't a living tree in the first place.

“Let’s go inside. Quickly!”

Even though it looked dirty and old, they had no choice.

When they opened the creaking door and went inside, there was a worn-out table and chairs, and a small fireplace.

“I will start the fire.”

“The windows need to be blocked. Anyone want to help?”

The party moved with one mind. They blocked the passages where the wind came in with junk and lit a fire in the fireplace.

Finally, when Artier set up the camp formation, a little warmth began to settle in the chilly cabin.

“Phew.”

“How is everyone?”

“Fortunately, no one has frostbite. Sir Reinard just fainted and will likely wake up soon.”

“I see. But how long are you going to stay in that form?”

Collie was still maintaining his dog form.

“The human form is too cold to bear. I’ll probably stay in this form for a while.”

“Alright.”

Artier looked outside the cabin through a faintly open gap.

It was still snowing continuously outside.

“Hmm…”

At this rate, it was clear that by the next morning, it would be piled up higher than a person's height.

“Jeina, how long do you think the snowstorm will last?”

“Hmm…”

Jeina was lost in thought.

And then, surprisingly, she offered quite specific information.

“Probably for at least two months?”

“Two months?!”

“In the northern winter, days without snow are rare. And this is the earliest estimate.”

“In that case…”

Artier racked his brain.

No matter how he thought about it, the outcome was not good.

‘In four months, the Hellmorphs will invade the capital. That will be too late.’

It seemed they had to find a way to break through the snowstorm. Gerard’s opinion was the same.

“Even if the snow stops, we can’t be sure how long that state will last. If we’re unlucky, it could snow again on the way back. It’s better to think of a way to break through the storm rather than avoid it.”

“What kind of method is there?”

“I’ve predicted the path the Imperial expedition team has taken so far.”

Gerard spread a map on the table.

Between the northernmost Baron Rice’s fief and Jestion’s viscounty, there was an absurdly empty space, but it wasn't completely empty.

What Gerard pointed to was a very old ancient temple.

“This is the temple of fanatics who are known to have perished in the past. The Imperial expedition team probably suspects that the magic sealed here summoned the Hellmorphs.”

“What god did they believe in?”

Although the popular religion in this world was the Rata faith, which believed in the stars themselves, it wasn't that there were no people who believed in the existence of a god.

Especially before the Empire was founded, each kingdom had different doctrines they believed in.

“Well, even archaeologists haven't found out much. It’s such an old temple that they’re having trouble interpreting the ancient language. But what is certain is that they almost succeeded in summoning a god, and that secret art is still dormant inside the ruins.”

Almost summoning a god.

At this point, it wasn't that he couldn't understand why the Imperial expedition team suspected that place.

“Alright. Then let’s head that way too.”

As it happened, the path to the temple was not far from Baron Rice’s fief.

While looking at the map, Artier pointed to a large lake near the temple. On the sign drawn on the lake, the nickname ‘Eternally Frozen Lake’ was written.

“This lake, do you think we can cross it on foot?”

“Hmm. Not a bad idea.”

Gerard nodded his head.

“That lake is frozen all year round. And now it’s winter. If we cross carefully, there will be no problem.”

“Then let’s use this way to enter the temple.”

After making the decision, the party spent the night in the cabin.

The next day, Artier gathered everyone and explained the situation.

“Hmm.”

As expected, Reinard, who seemed displeased with something, was the first to speak.

“Solving the cold is the priority. It’s difficult to last even three hours moving in this cold.”

“…”

Artier stared at Reinard with a look of disbelief.

For reference, everyone, including Reinard, was wearing the thick coats distributed by the Papal State.

‘You’ve got over 40% cold resistance, and you can’t last three hours?’

Of course, he was from the south and was a mage who handled fire.

But even considering that, wasn't he too weak?

“Don’t you know any warming magic?”

“I could start a fire. But it might melt the ice.”

“Just make it moderate. Enough so it doesn't melt…”

To melt the lake ice, an ordinary fire would be far from enough.

For a moment, Artier suspected if Reinard was in his right mind.

“I will cast a Shield spell. It should get warmer just by blocking the wind.”

Only after Gerard stepped in and offered a compromise could they enter the lake.

As they descended down the lightly piled snow, glistening ice rippled along the lake’s water.

…That’s right. It was rippling.

“It looks like the water isn’t properly frozen?”

When Tersion asked, Artier’s face naturally turned to Gerard.

Gerard’s expression was stiff.

“I have been here before. It was summer then, but this lake was completely frozen.”

“Then does that mean something melted the ice?”

“From the mana I feel, yes.”

Collie said, sniffing the air.

“There are traces of large-scale fire magic being used on the lake. It was cast by multiple mages.”

“The Imperial expedition team. Did they realize we were following them?”

“No, this is…”

Thump… Thump…

The surrounding ground began to shake.

Artier immediately drew his sword and turned around.

“…It seems they were running from something.”

As soon as his words ended, the piled-up snow exploded, and a monster of enormous size revealed itself.

Artier, who immediately raised his sword to prepare for battle, was at a loss for words when he saw the information window that appeared before him.

[Lv.54 Hell Annihilator (Super Large)]

‘Level 54? That’s boss monster level!’

There was a reason the Imperial expedition team had fled.

Not as much as Artier, but the bodies of a few who had instinctively sensed the opponent's strength froze.

“Th-this bastard is.”

“We can’t win!”

“Artier!”

At Jeina’s shout, Artier’s mind snapped back to reality.

It was too late to clear the snow piled up on either side. There was only one direction they could go.

“Everyone, into the lake!”

As Artier stepped on the solid ice and jumped into the lake, everyone immediately followed him.

Right after that, the giant Hellmorph let out a roar and stepped onto the lake.

Craaack!

However, the ice floating on the lake, while it could support small humans, did not have the strength to support a monster larger than a skyscraper.

The monster, whose foot suddenly sank, staggered and then fell over with a loud crash.

KRA-KOOOM!

When a huge being fell, the aftershock was also extraordinary.

The lake water churned violently, and the ice on top of it also began to shake.

“Uaaagh!”

“Everyone, get a grip and lower your stance!”

Instead of standing on the slippery ice, Artier kicked off with both feet, soared up, and used flight magic.

When he looked at the situation from mid-air, most of them, except for him, were slipping and unable to keep their balance on the ice.

“Gerard!”

Artier first grabbed the hand of Gerard, who was about to fall into the water, and pulled him up into the air.

“Use flight magic!”

“Alright… Artier, watch out!”

Artier turned his head at Gerard’s voice.

A huge piece of ice shot by the giant monster was flying towards him.

It happened before he could even draw his sword.

KABOOM!

“Artier!”

Artier, who had hastily thrown Gerard into the air, fell into the lake along with the piece of ice.

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